The British political class and the Tory-Lib Dem Coalition have given us a referendum on the alternative vote as part of this Act. But they refuse us the vote we need – a referendum on the latest insult to Cornwall – the Devon and Cornwall constituency.
However, we also have the perfect opportunity to commandeer their pointless referendum for our own purposes and transform it into a statement of Cornish resistance. Don’t just moan – spoil your ballot. Go to the polling station. Then write ‘No to Devonwall’ or ‘Yes to Cornwall’ or ‘Reject the sell-out’ or anything else you like on the voting paper.
Regain your self-respect. Stand up to the centralist machine and the pathetic politicians who have failed to prevent this despicable sell-out. You’ll feel a whole lot better for it afterwards.
Don’t believe those doubting Thomases and the defeatists who tell you that the Devonwall constituency is a done deal or that no-one will notice a few spoilt papers. This is untrue. The number of spoilt ballots is recorded and will become public information.
All we need are a few hundred people brave enough in Cornwall to stand up and be counted and this will register. It’s likely that turnout in this election in Cornwall will only be around 30% or perhaps far less. Normally, there would be mere handfuls of spoilt votes. Even a few hundred would be enough to make a significant impact and be a sign of Cornish disgust. And imagine the impact a few thousands would make.
Are you prepared to join this campaign of Cornish resistance? Do you care sufficiently to say, finally, enough is enough? If so, join us and spoil your paper.
Posts
With this campaign, the Welsh Ramblings campaign and Bella Caledonia's Alba Voice campaign, hopefully there can be enough support throughout the UK to spoil enough papers to show that we all reject this pointless referendum, which is nothing but a sop to the Lib Dems. If AV made any real difference to the elections, the Tories would not have allowed the referendum to go ahead. Let's be clear: the Tories oppose AV purely to allow the Lib Dems to look like their referendum is a genuine win for electoral reform, to try and make sure nobody notices how poor an election system it is. It's disappointing that groups like Yes To Fairer Votes have jumped on AV as if it was something they had spent decades campaigning for - even if MPs start being elected with 51% of the vote, that's still 49% of the electorate having their views ignored. Then again, these groups are probably filled with silly little politics students who don't really have a clue what they're on about.
ReplyDeleteWell i am pleased to have read the comments on here. i was wondering what to do on the referendum day - cant say im too impressed with what we have now - end up with that there George Eustice (who makes out we are all thick - dont like that), round here. not impressed with the alternative either. so i shall spoil my ballot paper on may 5th. i hope all that lot who made such a fuss going up to the bridge do the same or were they just posing for the cameras?
ReplyDeleteTolskithy Tribune
I don't think this is the best vehicle to launch such a protest. Spoiled ballot papers will just go unnoticed. This referendum is about an issue the importance of which seems to be totally lost on so many people. There will be a very small turnout at the polls anyway, and the result could be the disastrous result of a so-called majority voting for AV, and bearing in mind the low turnout expected, it would mean AV being introduced as a result of perhaps less than 25% of people voting for it. That will be a disaster for our present system, dislike it as we may. There will only be a fair democracy when people are forced to vote and can officially record a non-vote on the ballot paper which has to be counted in the overall sceheme. Spoiling the ballot paper will not be effective and is in overall overall terms, unhelpful.
ReplyDeleteThe proposed AV v FPTP UK Referendum consists of a contrived, fabricated and simplistic bipolar choice of two inadequate options set against unfit UK Electoral Law, unfit UK Electoral Registers and unfit UK Election Returning Officer negligible powers of cross-constituency scrutiny. Election Returning Officers will be unable to guarantee 'One Person-One Vote' nor to sign off ANY part of such a referendum as 'true', 'democratic', 'free' or 'fair'.
ReplyDeleteHere are fundamental AV v FPTP BOGUS REFERENDUM flaws:
1. UK Electoral Law - NOT 'fit for purpose'.
2. UK Electoral Registers - NOT 'fit for purpose'.
3. UK CERO powers - NOT 'fit for purpose'.
A UK REFERENDUM MUST, ON PRINCIPLE, BE GUARANTEED TO BE VERIFIABLY AND GENUINELY 'ONE PERSON-ONE VOTE'.
IF THIS AV v FPTP BOGUS REFERENDUM IS ATTEMPTED IT WILL NOT BE.
BOGUS UK ELECTORAL REGISTERS = BOGUS REFERENDUM:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/grahamsmith/2010/06/second_home_voters_1.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/grahamsmith/2010/06/secret_ballots_and_second_home.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/grahamsmith/2010/06/worried_about_second_home_vote.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/grahamsmith/2010/06/kevins_too_busy_to_probe_secon.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/grahamsmith/2010/06/game_on.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/grahamsmith/2010/06/a_letter_to_the_chief.html
1,000 fraudulent fake voters gone:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/grahamsmith/2011/04/some_second_home_voters_purged.html
(with more to follow)
In the face of such corrupt and non-democratic electoral foundations, these may be the only rational responses to the RUBBISH REFERENDUM:
BOYCOTT THE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT CONSERVATIVE PARTY CAMERON CLEGG COALITION BOGUS AV v FPTP REFERENDUM.
OR
SPOIL YOUR BALLOT PAPER WITH A SUITABLY CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE BOGUS AV v FPTP UK REFERENDUM - A LIBDEMCON COALITION CON.
NOTE: ALL SPOILED BALLOT PAPERS HAVE TO BE RECORDED AND NUMBERS PUBLISHED.
ANYONE WHO VALUES GENUINE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES AND WISHES TO SEE GENUINE 'ONE PERSON-ONE VOTE' DEMOCRACY IN THE UK WILL NOT ENDORSE THIS ABSURD, INFANTILE, UNSOUND, NON-CREDIBLE, SHALLOW, RESTRICTED AND INSULTING BOGUS REFERENDUM WITH THEIR VALUABLE VOTE.
CONSIDER THIS:
IF THE NUMBER OF SPOILED BALLOT PAPERS EXCEEDS THE 'YES's, THE 'NO's or BOTH - WHAT NEXT?
With our compliments
The Editors
CN
Tolskithy Tribune's talk of George Eustice MP reminds us of George's recent claimed enthusiasm for 'One Person-One Vote' democracy while forgetting that, here in Cornwall & Scilly and the rest of the UK, we don't actually have it! George's Tory friends have been buying votes and vote 'flipping' privileges for years through multiple property ownership and multiple eclectoral roll registrations across the UK on the back of that anti-social and anti-community misuse of residential housing!
ReplyDeleteGeorge Eustice MP will, of course, now be proud to be associated with Cornwall Council - the ONLY local government authority in the UK taking serious action at last to clean out all those multiple property owner non-resident multiple electoral roll registration fraudulent voters from its electoral rolls in order to bring something a little bit closer to genuine 'One Person-One Vote' democracy to Cornwall & Scilly (some way to go!):
1,000 fraudulent fake voters gone:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/grahamsmith/2011/04/some_second_home_voters_purged.html
(with more to follow)
Now the rest of the UK's constituency areas and Electoral Registration Officers just need to follow Cornwall Council's example - Oooops! Too late to run a GUARANTEED 'One Person-One Vote' 'referendum' by May 5th 2011!
In the face of such corrupt and non-democratic electoral foundations, these may be the only rational responses to the RUBBISH REFERENDUM:
BOYCOTT THE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT CONSERVATIVE PARTY CAMERON CLEGG COALITION BOGUS AV v FPTP REFERENDUM.
OR
SPOIL YOUR BALLOT PAPER WITH A SUITABLY CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE BOGUS AV v FPTP UK REFERENDUM - A LIBDEMCON COALITION CON.
With our compliments
The Editors
CN